A 10-minute writing task for your YEAR 4 child - The colour of ice

❄️ Week Twelve Writing Challenge! ❄️

Another short and simple task this week — perfect for ten minutes of creative focus on these frosty days.

Since many of us have been crunching across icy paths and wiping frost from the car each morning, it felt like the ideal week to focus on ice. Last week we explored storms using smell and taste; this week we’re switching senses and looking closely at colour. Ice often seems like just one thing, but look again… it can shine silver, glow blue, sparkle pink, or even hide tiny shadows beneath its surface. Its colour can change with the light, the weather, or the mood of the moment.

To help your child get started, here’s a simple word bank and a few example sentences they can use as inspiration.

❄️ Word Bank

Colours :
icy-blue, silver-white, crystal-clear, frosty-grey, pale-pink, glass-blue, snow-white, midnight-blue

Describing Ice:
shiny, glittering, cracked, smooth, frozen, sparkling, jagged, delicate

Atmosphere / Mood Words:
quiet, still, chilly, brittle, calm, whispering, cold-glow, shimmering

📝 10-Minute Task:
Ask your child to write 3–4 sentences describing ice — on puddles, windows, leaves, grass, or icicles. Encourage them to focus on what the ice looks like and how its colours help create the mood of the scene.

✨ Example Sentences:

·       The ice on the puddles shimmered a silvery white, as if someone had painted the ground with moonlight.

·       Thin cracks glowed icy-blue, like tiny lightning trapped beneath my boots.

·       The cold air felt still and glass-clear around me, holding its breath.

·       Even the icicles seemed to sparkle quietly, hanging like frozen stars.

Happy writing, everyone! ✍️✨

Anna Donovan
Qualified Teacher (QTS 2005)
Specialist 11+ Exam Essay & Creative Writing Tutor